PAAE Teacher Mentor Award Recipient Mr. Mark Anderson

Each year the Pennsylvania Association of Agricultural Educators (PAAE) recognizes an individual who has worked hard to oversee the growth of other Agricultural Educators in Pennsylvania. This individual values the different perspectives and skills that new Agricultural Educators bring to their classrooms and communities and offers to help prepare them for the challenges and triumphs that those new Agricultural Educators may face throughout their careers. The 2020 recipient of the Teacher Mentor Award has be given to Mr. Mark Anderson (@deucehorse).

Mr. Anderson was motivated to begin a career as an Agricultural Educator when he served as the 1987-1988 Pennsylvania FFA (@FFAPENN) State Vice President where his experience with his fellow students made him want to become an Agricultural Educator and FFA Advisor. Mr. Anderson began his career as an Agricultural Educator by acquiring a degree in Agricultural Education from The Pennsylvania State University (@TeachAgPSU). After graduating, he served as a long term substitute for Blue Mountain High School's agriculture program. Currently, Mr. Anderson teaches at Elizabethtown Area High School where he manages the agriculture program and FFA chapter with Mr. Stephen Geib (@EtownFFA).

Being an experienced Agricultural Educator, Mr. Anderson has lived through many challenges and triumphs throughout his career. Every day he is challenged to work with students who are not motivated to learn so that he can prepare them for life after high school by helping them discover their own passions. Those challenges are all worth it though as he describes one of his proudest moments as, "Watching a former student become a State FFA Officer, then become an Agricultural Educator, and have her first State FFA Officer". In addition to watching his own students succeed, he also enjoys helping other Agricultural Educators to learn about Inquiry Based Instruction as an NAAE Agriscience Ambassador and Facilitator (@NAAE). 

Mr. Anderson has mentored seven student teachers and five of his own students who graduated from his program and earned a degree in Agricultural and Extension Education, two of them (Ms. Sarah Thoman and Ms. Sarabeth Alderfer) who are currently Agricultural Educators in Pennsylvania. Being chosen as the recipient of the PAAE Teacher Mentor Award means a great deal to Mr. Anderson as he thoroughly enjoys helping other Agricultural Educators realize their potential as teachers and advisors. Seeing his mentees succeed is rewarding to him because it is rewarding to them to be able to discover new ways to better help their own students. Mr. Anderson's advice to new Agricultural Educators would be, "Be yourself and do not try to fit into someone else's mold. Get as many hands on and practical experiences in agriculture as you can; they will help you to guide your students to a better understanding of the opportunities in the agriculture industry". 

Be sure to congratulate Mr. Mark Anderson on being recognized as the 2020 PAAE Teacher Mentor Award recipient and wish him luck as he applies to be the NAAE Region VI Teacher Mentor Award recipient.

Taylor Halbleib

Penn State CPPD Student Worker

Agricultural and Extension Education

Class of 2022